I'm glad that you enjoy the USGP. It's folks like you who ensure that the event will continue to be attended by spectators. Having gone to Indianapolis as a cornerworker for the first USGP at the Brickyard, I can honestly say I have no desire to participate in that event again. The costs were exorbitant, and the appreciation from the organizers was almost nil. Plus, there wasn't much racing to speak of. Yeah, the cars are pretty (and loud), but I don't think there was one pass for position on the track the whole weekend! I'd much rather save my $$$ and go to the RunOffs, the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta, or the Sebring 12-Hour.

Hi Pete,My wife and I are big F-1 fans and get up on raceday sometimes at 3:00a.m.to watch it live on SPEED. We have done this for many years, ever since it came to US TV. But our experience at Indy F-1 was very similar to Kelley's. Kicked around by the speedway, ripped off at restaurants, and extorted by the motel owners. You really need to love it to put up with the abuse. Sometimes I doubt Tony George's concern about anything but his own bottom line. The most fun we have had watching a race is the Rolex 24 Hour in the old days prior to the France involvement. - Jim

It can be an expensive weekend, but there are cheap ways of doing it too. I met a guy there who lets people from all over the country crash at his place for the three day weekend! He's a bachlor and his place is pretty trashed, but hey, as far as I'm concerned he's the coolest guy in Indy! B)

Parking can be cheap too! Just call up the track after you order your tickets and tell them that you want infield parking and that you're with the BMW, Porsche or Ferrari club and they'll mail you passes to park inside the track for free for both qualifying and race day!

Tickets are the most expensive part of the weekend and I buy those well in advance, so it's not bad. Just buy the cheapest seats you can find! It doesn't matter for me, since I usually just end up walking around anyway...

My Hubby (Jan) and I are HUGE F-1 fans. We went in 2001 & 2002 as guests of workers (Kris & Nancy Mandt) and had a blast.

We don't have a lot of extra money so we stayed one year at a camp ground by Indianapolis raceway (something like that) on the west side of town. It was really cheap, we rented a van to drive down in and stayed in the van over night... yes it did get kinda chilly at night, but it was worth it! The second year we went down with some friends who won tickets through the BMW club and we were able to join the Indy BMW club for most meals and cheap parking.

I know that F-1 doesn't have a whole lot of passing, and that is most people's complaints, but I gotta tell ya, the people watching has got to be the best!! There are people from all over the world and it is so kewl to watch and listen. I think that is one of the best parts... ok... then there is the Foster's oil cans!

As a Ferrari and Michael Shumacher fan even I have to admit that the races can get a little blah. That being said, if they are racing, I am probably going. I'm actually hoping to work F&C this year at the event, but am just now getting the application process started.

I love F1. One of the reasons I love racing is to see the technical innovations. I mean, would we have ABS on our road cars nowwithout racing? Probably the biggest reason I can't enjoy NASCAR. I mean really can anyone really name a car in current production that uses a carbeurator. Ok, enough of my rant.

My family and I got lucky with the $$$ side of the whole thing. We have family and friends in the area that let us sack out on their floor, and I know a guy who lives a block from Indy turn 4 who lets us park in his yard for $50 for the weekend.

I still cant get over the sound of a V-10 18,500 RPM. There is nothing in the world quite like it.

I'll be there as well. Hard to pass up an F1 race 2 hours from my house.

That being said, I understand the concerns some people have with working the event. There is an incredible amount of downtime (and few support events), during which we're expected to be fully staffed and ready. Last year, we got there at 6:30 am for a 10 am start time (because of where they allowed us to park). Actually, I consider it sort of an "low intensity" weekend, and a nice rest break from a "normal" regional or national. And, once you get past the speed, noise and technology, the racing actually kinda sucks. 'Course, like I said, it's close, and we've been offered a place to stay each year, so it's cheap and easy for me.

I started watching F1 in the mid-80's, with the Prost/Senna/Mansell battles. Got hooked enough to pull me to Adelaide in '87 (I was AF, cost me $10 Space-A from Hawaii), worked the last turn (16?, right-hander just past pit-in) where the cars were literally running less than a foot away from me, albeit on the other side of the concrete wall, no fencing to get in the way. Good times! One of the Minardi broke late, parked it Driver's left across from start/finish, so our job was to form a human chain around it to keep spectators from grabbing souvenier mirrors and such. After the crowd cleared the front straight, we pushed it back to the Minardi pit stall, which happened to be directly underneath the victory stand, so we stood there while winner Gerhard Berger sprayed champagne on us.

But, I digress.

The speed/technology/noise/crowd still offsets the pain-in-the-ass factor for me. It just facinates me. I've worked it all 4 years, and, while it's not neccessarily my favorite event of the year, I do enjoy it.

So, assignment lists aren't out yet, so I don't know where I'll be, but I'll be there!